


I want it all - Miracle Queen AU

by LuckyCharmedUniverse (AceMermaid)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Identity Reveal, F/M, Identity Reveal, LadyNoir - Freeform, Ladybug - Freeform, Marichat, Marinette Dupain-Cheng - Freeform, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal, Miracle Queen AU, Potential Reveal, Reveal, adrien agreste - Freeform, chat noir - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:14:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22984615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceMermaid/pseuds/LuckyCharmedUniverse
Summary: What if Marinette had been stung by the wasps that swarmed Paris for Miracle Queen?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 7
Kudos: 103





	1. The Unthinkable

Luka was the first to spot the wasps coming around the corner, only moments before the screams of the civilians being chased reached Marinette’s ears. It was coming from behind her, she barely had time to react before Luka pulled her towards him and switched their positions to protect her, getting himself stung in the process.

  
He immediately stiffened, let her go and stood straight and still, his eyes now glowing a bright yellow. It had all happened so quickly, it took her a moment to register it – she hesitated and that was her first mistake. The swarm wasn’t slowing down and she had little time to think. It was a swarm of wasps, wasps hate water, she needed to become Aqua Bug and find some water to avoid them, the seine was close. These were things she knew she had to do, that she fully planned on doing. She’d had the macaron ready, Tikki was out, the water was in sight … and that’s when the unthinkable happened.

  
She felt a sharp sting on her left leg, and just like that her body wasn’t in her control anymore. She stood stiff and silent though her mind was racing. She’d failed, for the second time that day she’d failed, big time. This was worse than she ever could’ve imagined. She had no idea what was going to happen now, what she could possibly do, if it were up to her she’d be breaking down right about now. Her only saving grace came as she felt Tikki remove her earrings. It was an emergency agreement she’d had with Tikki – if anything were to happen to her Tikki could remove and protect the miraculous, taking it to Master Fu, or rather Chat Noir at this point, to determine next steps.

  
“Don’t worry Marinette, it’s going to be okay, you haven’t failed, we will get through this. I’m going to find Chat Noir,” Tikki stated, floating in front of her, trying to comfort her, a concerned but determined look on her face, “It’s going to be okay, I promise!”

  
Tikki nuzzled her cheek before quickly floating away off in search of Chat Noir. If he had made it to safety, he would be able to decide what needed to be done. In the back of her head Marinette knew this, she knew how capable he was and she trusted him with her life, but knowing this did little to ease her panic at the moment.

  
Marinette wanted to ask Tikki how she was so confident, how it could possibly be okay. She wanted to apologize profusely for all the ways she messed up today. Apologize for probably being the worst Ladybug she’s ever served. She wanted to make sure she warned Chat that Hawkmoth had Master Fu and this would possibly be the biggest battle they’d ever had, and she’d messed up so bad, and she wanted to be there with him, but also that she had full confidence and faith in him and he needed to too. Maybe he would - should - give the miraculous to someone else, to someone who’d made it to safety in time, who was better than her, stronger than her, who could make this right. She might never see Tikki again, never be Ladybug again, and Chat’s going to hate her, and it won’t matter because Hawkmoth is going to win and he’s going to destroy the world and -

  
Marinette caught herself and stopped, taking the mental equivalent of a deep breath. She was spiraling into what ifs and worst cases and it wasn’t helpful. Usually Tikki or Alya would talk her to reason but before them she’d handled it herself, she could handle it, it just took a bit longer, she just needed to focus on the present.

  
There was several minutes of silence, presumably as the wasps combed the city. Everyone around her was still and quiet, waiting. Internally, Marinette gathered her bearings and calmed herself down. There was no way Hawkmoth could get her miraculous now or determine her identity as Ladybug. She wasn’t responsible for getting stung and all she could control was herself right now - not Chat, not Tikki, not Hawkmoth. She would do anything in her power to keep Hawkmoth from getting what he wanted – even if her power was severely limited right now. All she could do now was wait.  
Suddenly a voice she expected, though louder than she expected, filled her head “People of Paris, listen to Miracle Queen’s first order. From now on, no one will have to keep his identity a secret. All the miraculous holders, come to me!”

  
Marinette watched as Luka turned and moved almost robotically as directed, it took her another moment to realize she was doing the same. Try as she might she couldn’t get herself to stop – interestingly, she could slow herself down, just not keep her body from complying with the command.

  
Calling the holders and having them under her control, no doubt Miracle Queen was planning on handing them out, exposing their identities, and possibly forming an army to fight on her behalf. Not all the miraculous were in the box and not all the miraculous had found holders yet. Miracle Queen would have the bee, fox, snake, horse, and monkey. She didn’t have the Cat, Ladybug, Turtle, or Dragon. Kagami’s identity had already been compromised, but Adrien or Luka (since only one can hold the snake miraculous) and Nino may be safe from direct recognition with their respective miraculous. Marinette was relieved to feel the weight of the Dragon necklace still in her pocket, that was a powerful one to have saved, though she wished Tikki had thought to take it, it probably would be helpful to Chat wherever he is. Oh! And she had the mouse miraculous which Marinette had herself held – actually, come to think of it, she had held all the miraculous at one point … if Marinette could smirk, she would’ve in that moment. She finally had a plan.

  
There was no way to protect the identities of her friends now … but there was still a chance to protect her own.

  
She was the last to reach Miracle Queen and Hawkmoth, taking her place at the end of the line next to Kagami. She was sad to see so many of her friends identities exposed, but she found some relief not seeing Adrien or a boy she didn’t recognize in the lineup – Adrien and Chat were safe after all! She internally rolled her eyes as Chloe – or rather Miracle Queen – criticized her choice in Miraculous holders.

  
“Ugh Dupain-Cheng as well? You’ve got to be kidding me, this couldn’t get any worse,” Miracle Queen remarked, “Whatever, just grab your miraculous.”

  
Just as she’d hoped, her friends moved slower than her, likely attempting to resist her command, so she made it to the box first. She internally bit her lip as he hand moved over the center, where the Ladybug Miraculous would’ve been, but was relieved when it recognized the absence without hesitation and passed over it to grab the fox miraculous, the only one left on the top level, she put it on then started for the zodiac level. The other holders were stopped by the confusion. She had on the Fox necklace, Mouse necklace, Monkey headband, and Horse glasses, reaching for the snake when she was pleased to hear Hawkmoth and Chloe’s groans, their curious observation of her turned to annoyance. The respective kwamis, for their part, were definitely concerned but collectively quiet and observant, recognizing the severity of the situation.

  
“That’s impossible, no one could possibly wield that many miraculous! She’s trying to steal them, stop her Miracle Queen!” Hawkmoth growled.

  
“Quit it Dupain-Cheng! Put those miraculous back right now,” Miracle Queen screeched and she complied, “You think you’re so clever don’t you? I should’ve known you weren’t actually miraculous material, even Ladybug could see that!”

  
Marinette ignored her words and waited to be dismissed. She held her breath however as she felt herself, free of all other miraculous, reach for the Dragon miraculous in her pocket.

  
“Oh my god you literally had that on you when you came here Dupain-Cheng, are you _trying_ to get on my last nerve?!” Miracle Queen shut the box before Marinette could put the Dragon miraculous, thankfully still in camouflage mode, back in, “Useless, utterly useless. Keep your cheap necklace and just get out of my sight.”

  
Her wording couldn’t be more perfect. Marinette was suddenly a little freer – to get out of Chloe’s sight at least.

  
She complied and began the shortest route both out of Chloe’s sight and towards the Seine. Her plan from here wasn’t as clear because she didn’t know how to take back control of her body – she couldn’t talk or even change her facial expression, but she was somewhat mobile and that was a start. If she could find Chat she could give him the dragon miraculous – it’s water powers could protect him from getting stung. And perhaps she can find some way to warn him just exactly what he has to face … maybe she could even help him plan … somehow.

  
This was all of course contingent on her being able to find him. The Seine or sewers were the best bet if he hasn’t found some other way to avoid the wasps. It didn’t take too long before she was out of sight and on her way well in that direction.

  
If she could look down, she probably would’ve caught the bright green eyes peeking out at her from under a nearby sewer grate.


	2. A Time for Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette May still be affected but he wasp sting but she finds her luck turning around when Chat finds her. He helps break her trance, but heading into the fight of their lives, how could Marinette possibly retrieve her miraculous and keep her identity secure?

A leather-gloved hand grabbed the bare skin of her right leg. She stopped immediately and so did all the thoughts in her head which she realized had, once again, been running a mile a minute.

A moment of panic quickly gave way to relief as she realized who it must be. She allowed him to pull her down under the grate with him. He was incredibly gentle while also being quick and deliberate, they couldn’t get caught. Marinette was frustrated in how limited her control of her own body was but she did what she could to move with him. Not that he could tell, her blank expression and yellow eyes gave nothing away. Still, they made it down without incident, Chat doing one last look out before shutting the grate.

“Marinette! I’m so glad you’re ok!” Chat Noir said once they were settled and safe, his relieved smile softened in concern as he cocked his head, examining her state curiously, “Well, sort of ok.”

Tikki floated up beside Chat, still holding the earrings. It seemed they hadn’t yet been able to find another survivor to take on the miraculous. But there had to be some right? At least Adrien was out there somewhere ... right?

“There has to be a way to break this trance Tikki,” Chat said to the kwami, “I know she’s still in there somewhere. No one else could even move after being stung.”

“It’s rare that we’ve been able to break anyone free of the control of an akumatized victim,” Tikki replied, “But each time is different.”

Tikki was right, usually they didn’t bother to try because it was the heat of battle and the main villain always took priority. She’d only ever attempted to break control when Chat was affected … and the only time that had worked was when true love’s kiss broke Dark Cupid’s spell. It always depends on the villain themselves, and Miracle Queen had used hordes of wasps. In fact, now that she thought about it, she could still feel the pinpoint of pain on her leg where she had been stung. Was it possible …

She forced herself to take a step forward with her left leg, and Chat and Tikki took notice.

“That must be where she was stung!” Tikki said with a smile and zipped around out of Marinette’s sight, whirling around her leg, “There’s a stinger, perhaps removing it will bring her back!”

Yes! This was certainly odd considering wasps don’t typically leave stingers like bees … but neither Marinette nor Chat was one to complain about this. Akuma beings often took liberties from their real-life counterparts, and this was at least to their advantage.

With the sharp claws of his gloves, Chat carefullly removed the stinger and tossed it aside. All at once, Marinette was free, she could feel her muscles relaxing as she regained control. Chat grinned ear to ear as the color returned to her eyes. She stumbled a bit upon gaining full control of her body once more but Chat held her steady. She was so relieved she hugged Chat as soon as she could, but let go quickly once she realized what she was doing. From how often she’d been on the receiving end, she reasoned this a normal response to being saved by a superhero, but that didn’t stop the heat from embarrassingly rising to her cheeks.

“Ch-Chat, thank you,” Marinette managed to squeak out, before taking a step back, biting her tongue from saying anything further. 

“I’m so glad you got away Marinette,” Chat said unphased, “What is going on up there?”

“Chloe - er I mean Miracle Queen - she’s called all miraculous holders to come forward sh-she, well I mean he - Hawkmoth that is - he has what he called the Miracle Box,” she admitted, with some effort, she couldn’t even look him in the eye. Things were bad out there, worse than they’d ever been, it was her fault, and she couldn’t even tell him yet. Literally the only thing worse than their current situation would be if Hawkmoth had the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous, and the chances of that happening were more likely now than ever before.

She was comforted when he put his hands on her shoulders, she presumed interpreting her reaction as fear, “Marinette, it’s going to be okay, I promise. Just, please, you have to tell me - does he have Ladybug?”

“I-uh,” she faltered, figuring out how to answer this question, she looked to Tikki, “Is that her kwami?”

Chat nodded, “I know Ladybug’s in trouble, you know milady is smart, she sent her kwami to me with the miraculous. She can’t transform, but she would’ve come forward when he called right? If he has her, powerless in her civilian form, holding her hostage, I need to know. I-I don’t know what I’d do … I can’t let him hurt her.”

She looked into his eyes then and saw his pleading with her to confirm this wasn’t the case, and at least she could give him that.

“He doesn’t know who she is, I promise,” she comforted, “Not every miraculous was in the box, there were a few holders he brought forward that had nothing to grab, he has no way to know which they’ve actually used before.”

So, theoretically civilian Ladybug would still be powerless and close to the scene, but hopefully that still gave him some comfort.

“They do have and know the identities of Rena Rouge, Viperion, Pegasus, and Monkey King.” Marinette confirmed, she hesitated a bit before adding, because if Hawkmoth knew Chat sure as hell deserved to know too, “They’re my friends actually, Alya, Luka, Max, and Kim, but they’re not themselves, I think she’s going to make use of them to fight for her.”

“It’s going to be okay Marinette, at least she didn’t get Multimouse, you’ll have to tell me how you managed that one later,” Chat commended, if the identities of any of the heroes surprised him, she was proud he professionally didn’t show it, “What about Ryuko?”

“No, I didn’t see her,” Marinette stated, she hadn’t stuck around long enough to see everyone transform but he didn’t need to know that, plus this was the perfect chance to bring out that miraculous, “I know she was out earlier, _perhaps_ Ladybug still has the miraculous on her?” She subtly shot Tikki a quick look then looked at her pocket before turning back to Chat. Meanwhile he looked at Tikki questioningly.

“That’s true Marinette! I’ve completely forgotten, I’ll go get it!” Tikki zipped toward the sewer entrance, too fast to be seen, Marinette would’ve thought she’d gone outside too if she hadn’t felt the necklace being taken quickly from her pocket.

When Tikki reappeared, she handed the dragon miraculous to Chat, “Also you’re correct Marinette, she’s completely safe.”

“This is amazing Marinette! You’re so smart, the dragon miraculous is purrfect,” Chat said. She was glad to hear the pun, relieved he found things were actually looking up.

“The water powers the dragon miraculous offers will allow us to get to the scene without getting stung,” Chat stated.

“Us?”

“Yes, I need you, Paris needs you! I mean, no pressure, but I know how amazing you are and I know you’d be a perfect holder, and I am in need of a partner. So maybe a little pressure. Oh wait! I should do this more formally,” he took the miraculous from Tikki, who shared a nervous look with Marinette before complying, he then held it out to Marinette, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, here is the miraculous of the Ladybug, which grants the power of Lucky Charm. You will use it for the greater good. Once we defeat the supervillain, you will return the miraculous to me - or Ladybug - can I trust you?”

Wow, he got the speech down perfectly. Had he ever even been around when she gave it? No, right? Damn, was she more predictable than she thought?

Wait, focus! Apparently the speech was more compelling than she thought, because she’d taken the miraculous back from him without hesitation. But there is no way she could put on her miraculous without exposing her identity. But … is there a way to ease his suspicions and keep the miraculous?

“Wait, why are you giving me the Ladybug and not the Dragon miraculous?” She asked before she could stop herself. It wasn’t helpful, but it was curious, and it bought her some time to think.

“Because I just so happen to know you’d be an excellent ladybug! Second only to my lady herself, of course. You’re already an everyday ladybug Marinette,” Chat Noir flattered her, but the words were in earnest, and oddly familiar, “I wouldn’t lend the miraculous to just anyone, but this plan has the added benefit of splitting up the ladybug and black cat miraculous as well, so Hawkmoth can’t so easily get his hands on both at a time. I’ll use the dragon, from what I know, using two miraculous at once can be challenging, but I do have more experience wielding miraculous.”

Marinette suppressed a scoff because he literally didn’t know who he was talking to, but anyway, “I have an idea, I’ve hidden down here for akuma attacks before. Let me see if I can find somebody else who’s escaped and we can recruit them to wield the dragon miraculous.”

_As long as they split up, she can pretend she ran into Ladybug who had made her own getaway and given her both miraculous. If she could find Adrien quick enough he’d also make a good Dragon miraculous holder, he’s an excellent fencer like Kagami so he’d pick up the dragon sword rather quickly, plus he does have experience wielding a miraculous._

“We don’t have time Marinette, I’ve been through the nearest corridors already and haven’t seen anyone,” Chat insisted. She’d never thought she’d be so irritated by him being so rational.

“Er, what about Adrien?” Marinette asked.

Chat looked surprised, “What about him?”

“I know he’s gotten away … I’m sure he’s down here somewhere,” she replied, “He’d make a great dragon miraculous holder.”

“I like your thinking Marinette, but there’s no time to look for him,” Chat stated, “The transformation words are ‘Spots on,’ suit up, you might want to practice with the yo-yo a bit before we head out. It can be surprisingly difficult to handle.”

She had to bite her lips to suppress a giggle that time, she teased, “You sound like you speak from experience?”

“Well yeah kinda,” Chat put his hand on the back of his neck nervously, in an oddly familiar way, and she noticed his cheeks flush a bit in embarrassment, “A story for another time purrhaps. Let's just say I’ve always been more suited to the ring.”

He looked at her expectantly, she slowly put on the earrings. She took a deep breath, this was getting ridiculous. New plan - first she had to buy a bit of privacy. 

“Okay Chat, I’ll take the dragon miraculous, you go that way and I’ll go this way, we meet back here in 10. If we don’t find a new holder in that time we’ll make do with the two of us, got it,” She stated in her most Ladybug assertive tone, reaching for the dragon miraculous confidently in the middle of it, he handed it over without question. Her silly kitty nodded and turned the opposite direction as she headed into one of the tunnels, out of sight just before he could realize what she had done. Maybe, just maybe, that wasn’t enough to give away her identity, or overrule him seeing Ladybug and Marinette side by side not too long ago. But maybe, just maybe, that didn’t matter anymore anyway. She got just far enough away to be out of sight and earshot, even for Chat.

“What’s the plan Marinette?” Tikki asked.

“There’s nothing more I can do Tikki, I just wanted to let you know really, I don’t think we can avoid it any more,” Marinette sighed, “The moment I go out there transformed, he’s going to know. He’s silly, and maybe a bit dense, but not dumb.”

“If enough time passes you can say Marinette found you and shared the miraculous with you,” Tikki suggested, “Or maybe you can use both miraculous and introduce yourself as a new hero.”

“I’ve considered that Tikki, but Chat’s right. Paris is in danger now, this really isn’t worth stalling for. Even if I used both, if he recognized me as Marinette he’d question why I put it on without asking, he’d lose trust in me and that’s hardly reliable going into battle. Speaking of going into battle, the dynamic with him thinking I’m a rookie would be all off, it’s just not worth it, especially now,” Marinette explained rambling, after all the work she and Tikki had done together to keep her identities under wraps, she really felt she owed her an explanation, “And besides …”

“Besides what?” Tikki queried.

“Besides,” Marinette sighed and frowned, “After all the ways I messed up today, even if we do manage to make things right again, I don’t think Master Fu will trust me with the miraculous any longer, and I can’t say I’d blame him.”

“That’s not true Marinette! You’re one of the best Ladybug’s I’ve ever had and Master Fu knows it! Everyone makes mistakes, and villains take advantage of that, what matters is what you do about it as a hero, and I know you will set things right,” Tikki praised, “As long as this is what you want, I’m behind you 100%.”

Tikki nuzzled Marinette’s cheek and she cupped her hand around the little kwami in a hug, she couldn’t help but smile. She couldn’t say for certain if Master Fu would agree, but for now it was enough to have Tikki’s support.

“Then my mind is made up,” Marinette said, “Tikki, spots on!”

Marinette, now suited up as Ladybug, took a deep breath and headed back out to the clearing where she could hear Chat calling for her, curious at her attempted distraction, his patience waning.

“Ladybug! You’re here! Wait, where’s -? Wait ...” Chat’s eyes widened larger than she’d ever seen, there was no doubting the realization he had come too, “You’re -”

“Chat please, I’m begging, can we talk about this later?” Marinette cut him off.

Chat’s smile grew with his eyes, he was beaming, a little bigger than the reaction she was expecting, did he know her outside the mask? Wait, not the time!

“How did I miss it! Wait, I was so close! I can’t believe it, all this time,” he clearly couldn’t help himself, “It makes so much sense! Oblivio makes so much sense! Startrain! Wait, oh my god, am I -? How did you manage Multimouse???”

“ _Chaton,_ ” She said exasperated, the pet name seemed to get his attention, “Later!”

“I’m sorry milady, I’m just excited,” Chat laughed, but ultimately seemed ready to get back to business, which she appreciated. She offered a small smile but she couldn’t hold it for too long.

“I’ve messed up in more ways than one today Chat, it’s my fault Hawkmoth has the Miracle Box and Master Fu. I-I was careless, I forgot to detransform, I was sure I had lost Mayura! Maybe Hawkmoth was out too, I don’t know, I didn’t think to check. And then I got stung, and now I’ve given up my identity, and, and,” Chat put a reassuring hand on either of her shoulders, cutting off her rambling and bringing back her focus. Marinette had tried to remain composed, but she could feel the tears brimming in her eyes.

“Hey, the important thing is to save Master Fu and get back the box, and we’ll need a focused Ladybug for that,” Chat said confidently, “You’re here now, forget what happened ok? It doesn’t matter, because we’re going to fix it, I can’t do this without you.”

Coming from her partner now, after everything, it meant more than she could put into words, even if he’d never given her reason to doubt his support. She wrapped him up in a hug, intentionally this time, he hesitated a bit in surprise before reciprocating, “Thanks Chat, you’re always here for me.”

“Always, little bug,” He replied softly.

He was right after all, after taking a deep breath she took a bit to consider all their current options.

“I still think it’d be best to go in with all we’ve got, having a third person to hold up the protection is ideal. I’m sure Adrien’s around here somewhere. He’s held a miraculous before and he was with Kagami, but he didn’t come forward. He’s hid down here before, so I think we have a good chance of finding him quickly,” She insisted.

“Actually, I’m positive we won’t,” Chat argued, hand nervously on the back of his neck again.

“How can you be so sure?” Marinette asked, surprised, but in the back of her head she was finding it harder to shake how familiar that gesture was.

“Maybe … we should ... talk about it later?” He offered with a nervous grin, all but confirming the suspicion. _No. It’s impossible … what?? Chat Noir … Adrien Agreste … what??_ She was sure her eyes widened to saucers as much as his had. She couldn’t stop seeing it - the hair, the nervous expressions, the smile, it was all so _Adrien._ It was like a glamour was lifted and she could no longer deny it as the truth - Chat Noir is Adrien Agreste. Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir. Alya was right! Ugh if she ever found out Marinette would never hear the end of it … well there’d be more repercussions than that but still.

If she let herself dwell on this any longer, there was no way she’d be able to focus on the task at hand and she knew it. All she had to consider was that it was just Chat Noir and her, Ladybug, going into this, like always, a reliable duo.

“Later,” Marinette asserted once more, “For now then, I’ll combine the dragon miraculous with my own, I’ve used two before. I’ll put up a bubble but I want you to use your staff to survey the scene, I couldn’t see where they’re keeping Master Fu.”

“You got it,” Chat nodded and they were back to work.

“Tikki, Longg, Unify!” Dragon Bug emerged.

As discussed, Chat extended his staff out of the sewer grate, through a bubble of water that guarded the opening from wasps. Through the screen they could use it like a periscope, and they quickly found Master Fu on the rooftop of the building, he was transformed and had a shield up, under attack by a Sentimonster. With the grate open, they heard Miracle Queen herself trying to taunt them out “Oh Ladybug! Chat Noir! Come out come out wherever you are,” so it was safe to say she was where Marinette had left her.

“Okay we have to free our friends from Miracle Queen. Then we can defeat Mayura, Hawkmoth, and the Sentimonster, but first we’ve got to neutralize those wasps. If we get stung it’s all over,” Marinette stated her plan confidently, back in the zone. No more unknowns, no more dwelling, it was all clicking into place. This was the stuff they were used to, if anyone could pull this off, they could.

“Sounds easy when you say it,” Chat remarked.

“Yes, especially with the dragon miraculous. I’ll keep up a water dome to keep Miracle Queen and her wasps out as we save our friends, but look for any chance to neutralize the horde if possible,” Ladybug stated.

“You got it,” Chat agreed, and shortly they were on the scene.

The battle started largely as planned, they were quickly able to isolate their four friends from Miracle Queen and the rest. They put up a good fight, but didn’t stand a chance. Especially after Chat Noir - unifying with the recovered snake miraculous to transform into Snake Noir - gained the power of Second Chance. A power, Marinette noted in the back of her mind, that he was very familiar with. The plan went without a hitch, straight through to purifying the akuma that had infected Miracle Queen. 

Ladybug hadn’t even yet used her lucky charm, but when she did, all it gave her was a key chain, and at this she was completely lost at how to use it to save Master Fu or fight Hawkmoth and recover the Miracle Box. Her reassurance this time came from Master Fu himself, who surprised her by, despite everything, relinquishing guardianship of the entire Miracle Box to her. Not only was she still Ladybug, she was now the Guardian of the Miraculous. The box itself, which was currently being held by Chloe, transformed before their eyes, it’s shape and color appearing like a larger version of her own yo-yo. Having failed, Hawkmoth and Mayura took off on the amok without a fight, seemingly giving up this round. Leaving Chloe who, even de-akumatized, had decidedly sided with the villain duo, in the lurch. Marinette found it easy enough to gather back all the miraculous from her.

Together, Ladybug and Chat Noir went to the roof to check on Master Fu. He had de-transformed, and he didn’t seem to know who they were. Hidden, Wayzz explained quietly that in relinquishing his role as guardian, he had relinquished his memories of the miraculous as well, which had been a big part of his life for a very long time. Even casting the Miracle Cure didn’t change this, though it did sort out the damage caused by Miracle Queen and the prior battle as usual. He was however able to provide her a key ring, identical to the one her lucky charm had given her, which she now realized was a key to a storage locker, where Master Fu had kept his things relating to the miraculous. He let her have it without hesitation, since he didn’t know what it was to.

“Later” didn’t come that afternoon. Adrien wanted to stick around and help Master Fu as well, but he had to return before anyone noticed he was gone. Marinette spent the next couple hours helping Master Fu gather his things and connect with Marianne. She also took some time to recover the Guardian items from the storage locker - she was going to have to study up. She had been training with Master Fu, but she knew she still had quite a bit to learn.

That was something that could wait as well though, it had really been a long day. Marinette was relieved to join her friends for celebratory ice cream from Andre’s just before sunset. Adrien was there too of course, and almost nothing was different. In fact, the only concrete evidence she got that she hadn’t imagined or misinterpreted what happened before the battle, was the discreet wink he shot her way after stating he’d “never doubted Ladybug and Chat Noir would save the day” while Alya lamented the lack of footage from the greatest battle yet. With everyone stung, no one captured what had happened, but everyone saw Hawkmoth and Mayura out, which was a rarity and enough to know the threat was beyond the usual. She also caught him looking her way more often, but she couldn’t be sure if that was her imagination or not. It made her blush to notice, but that wasn’t new for her, especially around Adrien.

It was just what she needed to unwind after such a long day. After everything that had gone wrong, they had still come out on top. While she was of course sad to see Master Fu go, he was the one who had taught her that there was a time for everything. The more she thought about it, the more she was confident that now was just the time for them to know each other's identities. She was glad she wouldn't have to handle being guardian alone. He would understand, he would be there to help her, like he always has been. More and more she really was looking forward to "Later".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The battle plays out pretty much identical to the Season 3 finale, so I didn't want to get too hung up on details here. As far as the ice cream gathering, I imagined it more friendly instead of people pairing off, so imagine the main 4 - Marinette, Adrien, Alya, and Nino - hanging out together with at least Kagami and Luka as well, talking a bit about the day's events but mostly just chilling and goofing around. Marinette needs and deserves it after this roller coaster of a day. (I don't know if all of the events in the episode take place in a day, but for the sake of this story I did keep it to one).  
> I've also decided there will be a 3rd part. This one took longer, and turned out longer, than I expected, but we do still have much more to see on the side of the reveal! It will probably be pretty short, more like an epilogue. For now, let's just say a certain cat has trouble sleeping and finds himself on a certain bug's balcony later that night.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first miraculous fanfic, I really hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Second part will be coming shortly. Still debating if I want to end it like the actual finale and keep the ending pretty canon linked or give them a cute reveal ... let me know what you think!  
> (Cross-Posted on Tumblr @luckycharmeduniverse)


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